Stabilized tray oven



May 21, 1940. A. HAUPT STABILIZED TRAY GVEN Filed June 5, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 21, I1.940. v A HAUPT 2,201,231

STABILIZED TRAY ovEN l n Filed June 5, 1939 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented May 21, 1940 STTES cPATENT OFFECE` Marshall Oven Co., of Illinois Chicago, Ill., a corporation Application .lune 5, 1939, Serial No. 277,374

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in stabilized tray ovens. In tray ovens of the reel type, stabilizing rings frequently are employed for .retaining the trays horizontal position during the rotation of the reels. The trays generally are journaled in their reel ends, or spiders, and such journals are attached by arms to the stabilizer ring or rings which retain the trays in horisontal position at all times. As the stabilizer rings and reel ends become heated they usually expand non-uniformly and to diiierent degrees,

and as a result ini-pose strains or stresses on the.

journals and impair or in time destroy the bushings or bearings carried by the reel ends and through which the journals entend. Renewal of such bushings requires disuso of the ovens f or a considerable period, sometimes twentyour hours or more, and in bakeries having but one oven or having no substitute oven, such shutdowns result in series disruption of the routine of business,

The present invention has for its object the provision ol compensating means which avoid the imposition of such destructive stresses on the tray bushings due to unequal expansion of the reel ends with reference to the stabilizer rings, thereby reducing the nurnber of shut-downs required in replacing such bushings and avoide ing the expenses to the baker and the inconveniences to him and to his customers resulting therefrom,

In the accompanying drawings where-in an enibodiment of the invention is shown for the purpose` oi illustration:

l is a longitudinal vertical section of a conventional reel type tray oven embodying the present improvements;

Fig, 2 is a sectional View taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, broken elevation illustratthe upper portion of the reel end, or spider, and a stabilizing ring and one of the arms connecting the ring to a tray journal;

Fig. i is a sectional view .taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 a view similar to Fig. 3, but illustrating parts of the arm in different relative positions, such as may result from expansion of the stabilizer' ring with reference to the adjacent end of the reel;

i3 illustrates the parts shown in Fig. 5 rotated from the position of Fig. 5 through `an arc of In the accompanying drawings, an oven of any suitable construction is :indicated generally `supported on pins or journals ZI by the numeral I 0 and comprises ond walls II and I2 in which may be journaled the shaft I3 of the reel indicated generally by the numeral lll. The intermediate portion of the shaft I3 is illustrated as being tubular and at its ends is provided with stub shafts I5 and I6, which are journaled in suitable bushings il supported by the end walls il and I2 respectively. The particular construction of the reel is not particularly pertinent to the present improvements and in the forni shown, the reel ends or spiders may be fabricated of radially extending members I 8 which, for purposes of strength and rigidity, may be connected at their outer ends by members it.

The present improvements may be `employed with any other conventional or appropriate spider construction. These spiders or reel ends are carried by the shaft i3 and in turn support trays 2@ of any suitable form. The trays 20 are which pass through bushings 22 carried in apertures provided in the arms I 3. In the oven of the particular construction disclosed, trays 2li are provided with mounting brackets 23 at the ends thereof which are loosely mounted on the inner ends of the journals 2l, as shown in Fig. (l. Arms 25 are attached to the journals EI as by set screws 26 and are attached at their lower ends to the brackets 23, such as by means of bolts 2l. This particular arrangement of attaching the trays to the journals 2l is in accordance with the disclosure of the application Serial No. 199,455, filed on April l, 1938, by William Schonwald, now Patent No. 2,161,750 and enables the trays 20 to be leveledV conveniently. Briefly, the leveling arrangement comprises the formation. of arcuate rows of openings ci different center-to-center spacings in the arrns 25 and in brackets 23. 'Ihe bolts lil pass through two openings which register when the tray is in level position. In so fa as the present improvements are concerned, however, the tray brackets 23 may be attached directly to the respective journals 2l.

At the opposite ends of the journals 2I, arms indicated generally by the numeral 28, are provided which are secured to the journals by means of suitable screws or pins 29 and at their lower ends are provided with pins or journals 3D by means of which the arms engage and support a stabilizing ring ZlI As shown in Fig. 2', this ring is eccentric with reference to the axis of the reel. As the reel rotates, the arms 28 rotate the ring 3l, and the latter, as is well known, rocks the respective journals El as to retain the trays in horizontal position. Where the stabilizer arms have been m'ade heretofore of a single piece of material, radial expansion of the spiders relative to the rings have caused the imposition of destructive stresses on the bushings 22. Should the ring expand relative to the spider, it in turn, through the connection of such solid stabilizer arms, would impose similar stresses on said bushings. For the purpose of avoiding the imposition of such stresses on the bushings mentioned, the arms 28 disclosed herein are formed of two parts 28a and 23h, the former being attached to the journal 2| and the latter to the corresponding pin 33. Member 28a is provided with a longitudinal channel within vwhich member 23h is slidable. Member 28h is provided with a suitable stop which may be in the form of a screw 32 which is adapted to engage a transverse member 33 carried by the side iianges of the member 28a. A similar bridging or transverse member 24 is provided adjacent the other end of the member 28a, which members prevent lateral displacement of the member 28h from the channel of the member 28a. The engagement of the stop member 32 with the transverse member 33 prevents withdrawal of the member 23h from the member 28a, although it will be seen that member 28h may be moved upwardly, as viewed in Figure 3, should the ring 3| expand with reference to the adjacent spider. The engagement of the members 32 and 33 of each stabilizer arm thus limits the downward telescopic movement of the two arm members 28a and 28h and supports the ring in operative position.

For the purpose of explanation, let it be assumed that all the studs 32 are in contact with the corresponding stop members 33, and that the spider only expands. Such expansion results in outward movement of the members 33, those in the upper portion of the spider (as in Fig. 5) moving upwardly, and those in the lower portion (as in Fig. 6) moving downwardly, while others move radially outwardly all in equal degree. This radial outward movement of the members 33 at the upper portion of the spider will tend to cause the member 33 to lift the ring, which burden of support will be assumed, during rotation, by the successive stops 33 as they approach the upper position of rotation. However, the ring will in fact expand to some extent when heated and hence will causer the pins 30 to move outwardly an extent corresponding to the degree of expansion of the ring and thus tend to move the studs 32 outwardly as from the dotted to the full line positions of Fig. 6. If this radial expansion is less than that of the spider, the studs 32 in the upper portion of the spider at any given movement of rotation will, by engagement with the corresponding members 33, support the ring, while if the expansion of the ring is in excess of that of the spider, those studs in the upper portion of the path of rotation will be spaced above the respective stops 33 (see Fig. 5), while the studs in the lower portion of the path of rotation (as shown in Fig. 6) will be moved into engagement with their respective stops 33 and thereby support the ring. Thus, under any condition of differential of radial expansion as between the spider and the ring, the latter is supported by the studs 32 and (zo-operating stops 33, either in the upper or lower position of rotation, without imposing the destructive stresses on the bushings 22 which would occur under such conditions were the stabilizer arms 28 formed of single or solid members, as generally heretofore employed.

The telescopically movable arm members 28a f and 29a thus compensate for the unequal expansion of the spider with respect tothe stabilizer ring and function equally well regardless of which of said elements has the greater expansion coeiiicient.

In Fig. l of the drawings stabilizer means are shown at each end of the reel but the present improvements may be employed singly, that is, at one end of the reel only, if desired. The members 25, when employed, are so adjusted as to retain the trays in level position when the usual baking temperature prevails in the oven.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the conventional ring support 34 is illustrated, the journal of which is mounted in the adjacent wall of the oven. The ring or rings bear against the corresponding roller or rollers for retaining them against lateral displacement with reference to their center of rotation, indicated by numeral 35.

While I have shown and described an embodiment of the improvements for the purpose of illustration, various changes may be made in the specific embodiment illustrated without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What 1 claim as new and desire to cover by Letters Patent is:

l. In a tray oven, a reel, trays journaled in an end of the reel and carried thereby, rotatable stabilizing means, and members operatively connecting the stabilizing means to said trays for causing said means to rotate with the reel and to retain the respective trays in horizontal positions during the rotation of the reel, each of said members comprising a pair of elements slidable relatively one to the other for preventing imposition of stresses in the tray journals due to expansion of the reel end with respect to said stabilizing means.

2. In a tray oven comprising a reel, trays journaled to the reel ends and supported thereby, a stabilizing member for retaining the trays in horizontal position during rotation thereof by said reel, and members operatively connecting said stabilizing member to the respective tray journals comprising relatively movable portions adapted to move relatively upon non-uniform radial expansion of the reel ends with respect to the stabilizing member.

3. A tray oven comprising a reel, trays journaled to the reel ends andsupported thereby, a rotary stabilizing member, and arms secured to the journals of the trays and to said member for retaining the trays in horizontal position during rotation thereof and for supporting said member, said arms each comprising a pair of members self-adjustable longitudinally for avoiding the imposition of stresses on said journals upon relative radial expansion of said reel ends with respect to the stabilizing means.

4. In a tray oven, a reel provided with tray supporting ends, trays journaled in said ends and supported thereby, a ring-like stabilizing member adjacent one of said ends, and members pivotally connected to said ring at arcuately spaced points corresponding to the arcuate spacing of the trays and secured to said tray journals for retaining the trays in horizontal position during rotation thereof, said members being arranged normally to cooperate for supporting said ring and comprising a pair of relatively movable portions selfadjustable as to length upon relative radial eX- pansion of said reel end with respect to said ring and provided with cooperating elements for successively supporting the ring during rotationv of the reel and ring in the event of such relative expansion.

5. In a tray oven, a reel provided with tray supporting ends, trays journaled in said ends and supported thereby, a ring-like stabilizing member adjacent one of said ends, and members pivotally conected to said ring and to said tray journals for retaining the trays in horizontal position during rotation thereof, said members comprising a pair of telescopic portions provided with co-operating stops for limiting telescopic movement of said portions in one direction for supporting the ring in operative position and enabling relative movement of said portions in the opposite direction to compensate for nonuniform relative radial expansion of said reel end with respect to the ring.

6. In a tray oven, the combination of a reel provided with trays journaled in the ends thereof and provided with a rotary stabilizing member `adjacent one of said ends, and arms connected to said member and to the journals of said trays on said last mentioned ends for supporting and rotating said member, each of said arms comprising a pair of parts arranged for longitudinal self adjustment in accordance with relative radial expansion of the reel end with respect to said stabilizing member and each pair being provided with cooperating supporting elements whereby upon such relative expansion the arms successively support such stabilizing member during rotation of the same and said reel.

'7. In a bake oven comprising a reel, trays journaled in the ends` of the reel, and stabilizing means for said trays comprising a rotary ring and means pivotally secured to the ring for supportingly attaching the latter to the tray journals whereby said ring retains the trays in horizontal position said means comprising a pair of relatively movable members for accommodating radial movement of the journals relative to the corresponding pivotal axes of said members.

8. In a tray oven provided' with a stabilizing member for the trays, and members each operatively connecting one of the trays to said member for transmitting stabilizing movement from said member to said trays and each comprising a pair of relatively slidable elements arranged for self adjustment for accommodating radial movement of the axes of the trays with respect to the stabilizing member.

ADOLPH HAUPT. 

